Harry Brook had called on his England players to continue the “high octane” cricket witnessed during their clean sweep in the Twenty20s but this latest victory over Sri Lanka in the first one-day international was more of a slow-burn affair.
Gone was the neck-arching carnage of the previous week and in its place, on a tired end-of-season surface, England were bowled out for 265 in 48.1 overs. Brook top-scored with 67 under a warm September sun, before his bowlers rolled the tourists for 176 to take a 1-0 lead into Thursday’s second match at Headingley.
Harry Brook’s reaction
Kusal Mendis’s reaction
The player of the match is Will Jacks
The second ODI is at Headingley on Thursday afternoon, with the series concluding at the Oval on Sunday.
That’s only the ninth ODI five-for by an England spinner. The last person not called Adil Rashid to take one was Graeme Swann in 2009. And the last England spinner to do so against Sri Lanka was our friend Vic Marks during the 1983 World Cup.
2×5 Adil Rashid, Vic Marks
1×5 Graeme Hick, Ashley Giles, Samit Patel, Graeme Swann, Will Jacks
England win by 89 runs
And Will Jacks is about to collect yet another player of the match award: 46 not out and 5 for 22 from seven overs.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 176 all out (Madushanka b Jacks 0)
Will Jacks gets his first ODI five-for! Madushanka is bowled through the gate by a jaffa to complete an excellent victory for England.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 176-9 (A Fernando c Banton b Jacks 0)
Four wickets for Will Jacks. Asitha Fernando can’t resist a flighted delivery and clobbers it high in the air towards long on, where Banton backpedals to take a comfortable catch.
These are ODI-best figures for Jacks: 6.5-0-22-4. But we all know what he really, really wants.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 176-8 (Wellalage c Overton b Jacks 45)
England did hold their nerve. Wellalage charges Jacks, is beaten in the flight and clunks the ball high to Overton at mid-on. That ends a zesty cameo of 45 from 36 balls, and with it the contest.
36th over: Sri Lanka 175-7 (Wellalage 45, Chameera 6) That flurry of boundaries from Wellalage has given Sri Lanka a sniff of a famous win, but England should be fine if they hold their nerve. If.
Chameera drives Atkinson classily for three, then Wellalage top-edges an extravagant hook for four. Sri Lanka need 91 from 84 balls.
35th over: Sri Lanka 167-7 (Wellalage 40, Chameera 3) The returning Will Jacks is taken for four singles.
34th over: Sri Lanka 163-7 (Wellalage 38, Chameera 1) Gus Atkinson returns to the attack. Wellalage takes a single off the first ball; Chameera defends the next four and then takes a single to keep strike. Hmm.
33rd over: Sri Lanka 161-7 (Wellalage 37, Chameera 0) Wellalage’s defiant cameo continues with back-to-back boundaries off Rehan, a slog-sweep and a lusty reverse-sweep past Archer at short third. His next shot is even better, a huge slog-sweep for six.
Wellalage scored 9 from his first 20 balls; he’s leathered 28 from the last nine.
32nd over: Sri Lanka 144-7 (Wellalage 20, Chameera 0) Wellalage thumps Archer over extra over for the first six of the match. Duckett was a few yards in from the rope and couldn’t reach it as he jumped backwards. It needed a Ben Stokes 2019 tribute catch. Wellalage larrups the next ball for four as well. I’d love to hear Jofra’s internal monologue right now.
31st over: Sri Lanka 133-7 (Wellalage 9, Chameera 0) Replays confirm it was umpire’s call, so a review wouldn’t have saved Colombage.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 133-7 (Colombage LBW b Rehan 14)
Rehan Ahmed gets his first wicket. Colombage misses a vigorous sweep at a big-spinning googly and is hit somewhere near the phallus. Sri Lanka have no reviews left but I reckon that might have missed leg stump.
30th over: Sri Lanka 128-6 (Wellalage 4, Colombage 14) Archer follows the left-handed Wellalage with a nasty delivery that thuds into the glove. Joe Root is also nursing a sore finger on his right hand after getting a touch on that edge for four from Colombage.
29th over: Sri Lanka 126-6 (Wellalage 3, Colombage 13) Rehan returns and is swept ferociously for four by the debutant Colombage. When he then takes a single, Wellalage plays and misses at a googly from round the wicket.
28th over: Sri Lanka 120-6 (Wellalage 2, Colombage 8) The substitute Liam Dawson misses a run-out chance with Colombage barely in the frame.
Colombage takes advantage of the reprieve to heave and edge Jofra Archer for a couple of boundaries.
27th over: Sri Lanka 111-6 (Wellalage 1, Colombage 0) Jacks bowls a couple of leg-side wides after turning the ball too much. But overall he’s having another very good day-night: 46 not out and 2 for 17 from five overs.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 105-6 (Kusal Mendis LBW b Jacks 42)
And it’s goodnight from Sri Lanka. Kusal Mendis, their last hope of victory, has fallen LBW to the impressive Will Jacks. He was hit on the pad after missing a premeditated sweep at a flighted delivery from around the wicket. Mendis reviewed, but deep down he knew.
26th over: Sri Lanka 105-5 (Kusal Mendis 42, Wellalage 1) Overton continues to pummel the pitch and given the Sri Lankan batters very little to work with. He doesn’t quite have the variety of Liam Plunkett, the unsung hero of England’s 2019 World Cup win, but he has every chance of fulfilling the same middle-overs role in South Africa next year.
25th over: Sri Lanka 101-5 (Kusal Mendis 40, Wellalage 0) Jacks starts his over with four dots in a row to Kusal Mendis, who somehow needs to stick and twist if Sri Lanka are to win this game. At this stage England were 147 for 3.
One from the over. Jacks has excellent figures of 4-0-11-1.
24th over: Sri Lanka 100-5 (Kusal Mendis 39, Wellalage 0) Brian Withington has another Mark Wood song from the archives. “This one was inspired by the 2023 Ashes Headingley Test and was offered as a later period Beatles rip-off from the White Album (itself a delicious parody of the Beach Boys’ disturbing paean to young Californian females).
“My poor homage was prompted by a line from the CCLive’s very own Mes, Francophile and umpire extraordinaire of refugee cricket. (For those unfamiliar with the Guardian’s CCLive! acronym, DPRY = Democratic People’s Republic of Yorkshire.)
WICKET! Sri Lanka 100-5 (Liyanage c Buttler b Overton 4)
Big Overs strikes again. Liyanage tries to dab a hard-length, cross-seam delivery from Overton and gets the thinnest of edges through to Buttler. England are well on top.
23rd over: Sri Lanka 99-4 (Kusal Mendis 38, Liyanage 4) Liyanage opens the face to steer Jacks for three. But the other five deliveries bring only a couple, so Sri Lanka's required rate creeps up to 6.18. In these conditions, with four top-order batters already out, that’s quite a lot.
22nd over: Sri Lanka 94-4 (Kusal Mendis 36, Liyanage 1) Kusal Mendis is pinned on the glove by Overton. Crumbs, that delivery really took off. Mendis’s reaction was hilarious: he glared with a kind of furious confusion at Overton, then the pitch, then his own wounded hand.
Mendis composes himself to chip a majestic boundary down the ground. “Shot of the day I reckon,” says Mark Wood in the Sky Sports commentary box. If Sri Lanka are going to win this game, Mendis needs to go deep and big.
21st over: Sri Lanka 87-4 (Kusal Mendis 28, Liyanage 1) The right-handed Janith Liyanage comes to the crease – and almost leaves it when he whips a big offbreak from Jacks on the bounce to backward square leg. Excellent over from Jacks: two runs, one wicket.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 85-4 (Asalanka LBW b Jacks 1)
So much for the left/right combo: Asalanka has gone straight away LBW after missing a sweep at Jacks. He reviewed, no idea why, but that was plumb.
20th over: Sri Lanka 85-3 (Kusal Mendis 27, Asalanka 1) Charith Asalanka is the new batter, which gives Sri Lanka a left/right combination.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 84-3 (P Rathnayeke c Banton b Overton 13)
What a fine catch from Tom Banton! After cutting the previous ball for four, Rathnakeye crashed Overton into the covers and was nonchalantly taken at ankle height. Every time Sri Lanka threaten to get on top, England take a wicket.
19th over: Sri Lanka 79-2 (Kusal Mendis 27, P Rathnayeke 9) Rehan is replaced by Will Jacks, who concedes three singles from a tidy opening over. The required rate creeps above six an over for the first time.
“Did someone say Mark Wood tribute?” begins Brian Withington. (I think John asked for a tribute to Wood’s imaginary horse, but let’s not split hairs.) “This was from 2024 and should be read to the tune of Norwegian Wood off the Rubber Soul album (by a short-lived 60s four-piece from Liverpool for the youngsters on here):
